Misguided Ghosts
by Indigo Hunter
Summary: After, Eddy is still trying to find out how to be himself and how to cope with the problems his brother left him. -Post BPS-
**Misguided Ghosts**

 **Description** : This turned out a lot longer and sadder and more messed up than I expected it to. Warnings for language and mental health issues. You have been warned.

/\\\/\\\

 _Bro locked him outside again._

 _He told him that he wanted privacy; he told him he would just get in the way like he always did._

 _So Eddy, barely seven, decided to take a walk away from his home. A few of Bro's friends strolled past him, oblivious as ever. Oh okay, that makes more sense. He just wanted to hang out with his friends! Eddy knew, especially after how many times Bro drilled it into his head, that he was a nuisance and got in the way more than often._

 _He wanted to make Bro happy and proud of him. If getting out for a while is what did that then Eddy would do it a thousand times more._

 _The short, chubby boy looked down at the pavement as he walked. He didn't know where he was going. There were no kids out for some reason, making Eddy feel a little sad._

 _It didn't matter, though. He didn't feel secure without his brother. He wasn't good enough. So, maybe it was for the better._

 _Eddy wasn't sure how long he walked when he heard a sad, pathetic sound._

 _It sounded like a cat._

 _Curious, the young boy picked up his pace and was led to a curb. At the edge of it was a sickly and thin-looking tabby kitten._

 _Eddy looked around nervously, looking for a possible owner. When it became clear that the streets were empty he ran over and crouched down._

" _Hey, little fewwa," Eddy said. He touched it. It responded, making Eddy smile a little bit. Bro didn't like cats, at most he liked big dogs. He said they were useless animals that got in the way._

 _Despite his brother's words, Eddy couldn't help but really like cats. He thought they were really cool. After all, even though Bro_ said _he didn't like them, he always tried to be "cool as a cat"._

 _The cat responded with a weak mew. Eddy made a quick decision: he was going to help this kitten. Unfortunately, he didn't know how. He was just little Eddy. There was nothing useful that_ he _could do. So..._

 _Eddy felt a lightbulb go off. Maybe Bro just didn't like some cats. This one was different, Eddy thought. It was hurt. That made it an exception, right? It would be okay if he liked it, right?_

 _Bro wouldn't get mad at him for helping this kitten, he was sure of it._

" _Hey, maybe my big Bro can help you! He knows everything! Hold on kitty."_

 _Tentatively, Eddy scooped the kitten up in his chubby arms. He winced as it leaned into an old bruise on his forearm. The bruise resulted from asking Bro a stupid question a few days back. It was okay, though. He deserved it. Eddy knew he deserved it._

 _It was starting to rain._

 _Eddy picked up the injured kitten in a hurry, running back towards his home as he began to get drenched._

 _He heard loud music inside, but pounded on the door anyway._

" _Bro!" he yelled desperately, the cat practically limp in his arms. Almost dropping the poor thing once, Eddy resorted to kicking the door instead. "Let me in! 'M sorry I got in the way! Pwease!"_

 _Just as Eddy thought of other ways to get inside, the door flew open. Bro looked at him, glowering and standing at his full height._

 _The kitten meowed a little._

" _Whatcha got there, pipsqueak?" Bro asked, voice tight and controlled._

" _Dude, what the hell?!" one of Bro's friends yelled from inside. The music stopped._

 _Bro turned his head, cool as ever. "Hey, can you guys come back later? Gotta take care of a few things."_

" _But we just started, man!" one of his friends yelled in protest._

" _Nah," another friend began, "let's just chill at my place dude."_

 _A few back-and-forths later, Bro's friends finally left. Eddy smelled something odd, but ignored it. Once they were gone, Eddy stared at his brother nervously. The kitten was still in his arms and he shifted his weight a bit, bobbing from one foot to the other._

" _I-it needs help," Eddy said quietly._

 _To Eddy's surprise, Bro's angry frown quickly turned into a smile, "Alright, hand 'em over. We'll get him some help."_

" _Really?" Eddy asked, eyes brightening._

" _Yeah, sure. I got just the thing." Bro held his hands out. "Put 'em here."_

 _Gently, Eddy handed the kitten over. Bro was going to help him out! All because he got out of his way for a while! He did like some cats, after all! Eddy thought about how awesome his brother was and grinned._

" _Alright, let's go," Bro grinned. "I gotta friend in the trailer park that can make this little fella all better."_

 _Eddy gave a happy nod in response, following his brother close as they walked towards the park._

" _So, you like some cats then?" Eddy asked, hands in his pockets as they got closer._

 _Bro shrugged, "Sure, kid." He laughed a little._

 _With his heart soaring over Bro's nice gesture, Eddy felt his contentedness grow as they finally passed the park sign. Bro walked evenly, calm and cool as ever. He was so good in emergencies. Eddy wanted to be able to keep a calm head in situations like this someday, angry at himself as his worry over the kitten made him bite his lip._

 _It was okay. Bro would make him as cool as him someday. Eddy knew it._

 _Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Eddy looked up._

 _His blue eyes widened._

 _Just like that, all of his emotions were quickly replaced by confusion._

" _Uh, bro?"_

" _What's up pipsqueak?" Bro asked, beginning to pick up the pace._

" _The trailers are… back… that… way?"_

 _Eddy stopped, shocked still._

 _Bro took the kitten by its scruff, holding it over an embankment._

" _Stop!" Eddy yelled desperately, starting to get closer. "Don't hurt—"_

 _Bro wagged a disapproving finger at him. "Keep it up and I'll_ really _drop it."_

" _NO!"_

 _Bro's expression quickly went to terrifyingly angry._

 _Eddy gulped, feeling tears in his eyes. No, he wouldn't cry!_

" _How many times have I told you?" he asked threateningly, holding the kitten tightly. It meowed in protest, weakly trying to wiggle away. He held the poor thing dangerously over the edge. Eddy felt terrible. He thought Bro would help the kitten, not hurt it! The kitten didn't do anything wrong! This kitten was different!_

" _You didn't listen to me. You didn't just leave me the hell alone," Bro said with an angry, but controlled tone. "So, now your little friend gets to suffer the consequences."_

"' _M sorry! Pwease don't hurt him! He's sick! Just hurt me!" Eddy pleaded, shaking and on the verge of tears again. It was getting harder to hold them back._

" _Oh, he's gonna be more than sick pipsqueak," he said with a wicked grin. "Let's see if you bug me again after this, you little shit."_

 _Bro let go._

 _The kitten fell._

 _Eddy gasped, sobbing inwardly._

 _He didn't bawl like a child should. He looked haunted, defeated. So instead he fell to his knees, tears falling silently from empty and broken eyes._

/

Eddy woke up with a shout, gripping his sheets tightly as his anxious breathing filled his room. His eyes darted around, trying to find something besides the sheets to ground himself.

The red light from the digital clock filled his blurred vision. He made out the the time to be 3:36 AM.

With a sigh, Eddy fell back. He took deep, calming breaths.

"It's Tues-no, wait-Wednesday. I'm 16. I'm at home in bed," Eddy whispered to himself. His mind continued to race, panicked. He hit himself on the forehead a few times. " _Calm the fuck down, Eddy. C'mon._ "

Eddy jolted right into reality as his phone began to ring.

Swiftly, he turned on his lava lamp to get a little light. He continued to calm his breathing, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The phone had nearly vibrated to the floor when he finally grabbed it.

The bright screen read 'Kevin'.

Eddy groaned loudly.

 _God dammit, not again._

"Yello?" he answered, his voice cracking a little.

He knew what was coming next.

" _Hey, man_ ," Kevin said on the other line. He sounded exhausted.

He rubbed a chubby hand over his face and sighed. "Sorry if I woke ya, I-"

" _No, it's cool. Doesn't help both our windows were open. You good?_ "

"Peachy," Eddy replied with a hint of sarcasm.

" _Bad night, dude?_ "

He ducked his head a little.

"Yeah. Bad night."

/

Eddy walked through the front doors of Peach Creek High chugging an energy drink. It was rare that he actually needed a lot of caffeine in the morning. If anything, it usually only served to set off his anxiety.

It was different now, as at most he had gotten an hour of sleep.

He passed by Kevin on the way to his locker. He had a serious look on his face, deep in conversation with Nazz. He didn't notice him one bit. However, Nazz did. They passed by rather fast, but Eddy noticed the soft look she shot his way.

Kevin was the worst keeper of secrets _ever._

' _God dammit, Kev.'_

Eddy grumbled to himself as he crushed the aluminum in his hand, twisting out the combination to his locker. It opened with a soft click, messy as ever inside. He dug through for quite a while until he found what he needed for his first class: Drawing II.

Naturally, his little sketchbook was filled mostly with lewd drawings. Namely, lots of dicks. There were a few exaggerated female figures, but amazingly none of them were nude. Eddy chuckled. Maybe he would have to fix that. Not for any sort of enjoyment on his part, but simply for laughs. As long as he kept a good chunk for class drawings it would be fine.

/

The hours of school went by at a snail's pace. Edd picked up on his tired and depressed expression and did what he learned was best: left it alone unless he wanted to talk about it.

To the best of his ability, Eddy did what he could to get through until the final bell rang. This was the bluest he had been in a while. He hated himself for not being able to bounce back as easily as he would have liked himself to.

Why was he so weak?

Eddy felt intense self-loathing, aggravated by both his fragile psyche and the fact that he had a fifteen-minute panic attack and had to sit in the bathroom until it passed during study hall. It took some deep breaths, some throwing up, and some gouges in his forearms courtesy of his nails. He always waited until he bled.

God, what was _wrong_ with him?

Thankfully nobody caught on it was happening. Not a soul stepped foot in the bathroom or asked about his brief absence.

Still, he hadn't suffered one of these for two weeks, and the last one was nowhere near this severe.

He took a detour home, slow and lumbering as he reached the park. He was alone that afternoon. Edd had a biology club meeting and Ed had a doctor's appointment. It was for the better. He didn't need to weigh either of them down with his issues.

He was set off by a nightmare. He laughed at how pathetic it was.

Eddy stopped, making a deliberate left turn as he made his way to the swings. The one he chose gave a loud creak in protest. He hunched a bit, hands on the chains.

He wasn't even really swinging. More, he was letting the wind sway him back and forth. Eddy stayed there a while before letting out an irritated huff. He was still stiff as a board. Damn. Not even the calm breeze and great outdoors were calming his nerves today. His friends tried their best, but sometimes that wasn't good enough for his messed up brain. Doing this usually helped. What the hell?

"Mew."

Alerted to the sound, Eddy did a quick scan of his surroundings.

At his feet was a large and fluffy striped cat. It stared at him expectantly.

Eddy sighed, "If you're my spirit animal and this is some weird religious experience, throw me a bone. Heh. Oh, sorry, _fish_."

It meowed again, and to Eddy's surprise, started rubbing its face on his leg.

"You're a friendly one, eh?" He felt a small smile creep onto his face, leaning down to pet the cat on the head. It purred. "Like that?"

The big cat rubbed against his hand a few more times before giving it a small heabutt. Eddy moved to scratch the base of its tail. "Cats like this crap, right?" It made a small purr in response, arching its back up at the touch.

"Y'know," Eddy began, "cats get a bad rep. I actually think your kind is pretty neat."

It looked at him straight in the eyes, letting out another small meow and rubbing its face against his sneaker. Eddy's eyes widened a little.

 _Why the hell am I so close to bawling?_

"You kinda look like this other cat," Eddy said. "Its freakin' me out, to be honest."

Just then, it took a few steps toward his other hand. It had a slight limp in its gait.

Eddy squeezed his eyes shut.

"'M sorry I let your kind down," he said softly. "That one time, I mean. You were prolly its sibling or somethin', huh?"

It purred yet again, rubbing against his other hand.

Eddy shook away a few tears, the sweet cat in front of him drudging too many memories. He sniffed, "God I'm such a pussy. Ha! No offense." He laughed with a slight waver.

The cat continued to shower him with affection. Eddy had finally composed himself, replacing his tearfulness with a hint of anger. "How could anyone hurt one of ya? It's bullcrap if ya ask me."

The cat just trilled in response.

/

All Eddy wanted to do was go home and take a nap. Ed and Edd would be wondering what was up, but he didn't care.

He meandered home, the meeting with the cat giving him the gumption to make the short trek. Eddy yawned, hands in his pockets and steps heavy. The bloody gouges on his forearms were getting a little sore. He really needed to cut that shit out or he'd end up with scars.

This day didn't have the greatest start, to say the least.

The short young man fumbled with his key, turning his door open after a few tries. It creaked, the darkness inside greeting him. Only the lava lamp emitted a dim light.

When he finally reached his bed, Eddy's body went limp as he dropped his bag next to it. He stood a brief second before face planting directly onto the round surface. The waterbed was old news; he had gotten too heavy to trust himself not to pop it about a year back.

He thought about that cat again. It was so damn similar to the one he tried to save it was just a tad unnerving.

Eddy sniffed a little, deep in thought. He laid there almost pathetically, feeling like garbage. The meeting with that cat definitely helped raise his spirits, but being so far past rock bottom to start only took some of the edge off. If he could've stuck around it a little longer it might've helped a lot more.

Maybe he needed a therapy animal or something.

That cat would be a great candidate.

Sadly, the thought was quickly replaced with something very negative.

He just _watched_. Eddy remembers being horrified and glued in place as Bro dropped the poor thing over-

He shuddered at the memory, trying to bring himself back to reality. He took a few deep breaths before he hauled himself over to his nightstand drawer and pulled it open. He grabbed the squishy water bottle next to his clock and downed an anti anxiety med.

He was taking it a little early, but what the hell?

Eddy wasn't sure if it was the placebo effect or whatever, but his panic rapidly began to calm down. He couldn't help that his brain chemicals were scrambled to shit and he needed 'scripts and food to make himself feel better. At least this helped him fight his issues, because god knows he needed all the outside assistance he could get with that.

"Thanks for screwing me up, _bro_ ," Eddy whispered with a hint of both sarcasm and venom.

 _BANG. BANG. BANG._

Eddy jerked at the noise, heaving himself up to a sitting position. Pausing his own little pity party he stalked over to the door, grumbling that he was on the way.

He just wanted to fall asleep and waste away in peace.

He barely had opened the door when someone helped him get it the rest of the way.

"EDDY! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Ed's enthusiastic voice rung through his ears, making Eddy cringe slightly.

"Inside voice," Edd said before patting the big guy on the shoulder. "And of course Eddy is alive. He's too stubborn to go out so easily."

Edd grinned.

Eddy grinned back, already feeling better at the sight of his best friends. Sure, he was tired but what the hell?

"No! Zombie attacks could happen at any moment of the day and Eddy is smol and round and slow so he would be a primary target. I saw it in a movie once," Ed explained, as if it validated his point.

Eddy facepalmed, Edd beginning to laugh. "Tell me you just didn't call me _smol,_ Ed."

"I believe our big friend has just memed, Eddy," Edd said with a playful smile.

"But you _are_ smol, Eddy!" Ed protested. "You barely reach my chin from the tops of your hair so therefore you are smol!"

At that Eddy laughed, louder than he had in awhile. He wrapped his two companions in a small group hug. Before he decided to be himself, Eddy would have gotten angry at Ed for commenting on his height. Now that he wasn't trying to be like Bro anymore, things were much easier to roll off him.

"Well, guess you gotta keep 'em off my tail, huh Lumpy?"

Edd grinned, "So, #protecteddy2k1X, then?"

"Die," he said weakly, giving his friend a pathetic slap on the shoulder.

At times like these, Eddy felt that everything was worth it in the end.

/

Despite the uplifting bout of bromance Eddy had shared with Edd and Ed, there was still a dark cloud over his head. It wasn't nearly as bad, but once again he had been jolted awake by the same exact nightmare from a day before.

After all, they couldn't be there to numb the pain all the time.

Luckily, he had closed his window so he didn't wake up Kevin again. He was tired of the pity looks from his enemy-turned-friend.

He took his meds and headed off to school around 6:30 AM. Mom and Dad were keeping tabs on him, but as both snored like dragons they rarely heard him wake up screaming.

Still, they knew something was up.

Eddy left early so he wouldn't have to go through the battery of "are you sure you're feeling okay" questions. Dad's 9-5 made it so he hadn't woken up yet and Mom liked her beauty sleep.

It was early dawn, sun just reaching the horizon when Eddy began his trek. He figured he would sit outside and keep himself busy with his phone or something until the school opened it's doors. That, and he would take the long way past the park like he did the day before.

Maybe that cat would be there.

The crisp, chilly air cut through his lungs. He shivered a little. Eddy reached into his pocket and took out a candy bar he was saving for later, but he decided to eat it now. He shouldn't be hungry, though. He already had a sizable breakfast.

 _Whatever._

Eddy munched on the chocolate and peanut butter, walking slow and steady. As the park began to come into view, he started to make out a figure by the slide.

 _Who get's up this early?_

He stuffed the now empty wrapper back in his pocket, squinting at the person. He was starting to get nearsighted _and_ farsighted like his mom, but Eddy refused to even go to an eye doctor. Glasses make your vision worse anyway, at least that's what he heard. Screw glasses.

"What's up, short stack?!"

Oh.

"Nothin' much, dyke!" Eddy peered closer.

Marie had become one of the coolest, chillest gals in recent years. After growing out of her boy-crazy ways, she was actually really fun to talk to. Eddy and her got along well enough, at least.

"Aren't you supposed to be hiding from the Wicked Witch?" she asked with a grin.

Eddy shrugged, "Aren't you late for the Pride Parade?"

"Shouldn't you be fighting a dragon to reclaim your kingdom?"

"Why aren't you calling me a pig for wearing leather?"

"Your face gets any chubbier you might as well be a pig."

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

Eddy and Marie exchanged a quick, friendly hug. "So, why you here so early?"

Marie gestured over her shoulder. Eddy's eyes widened.

It was that cat again.

Eddy felt strangely uplifted.

"Keeping tabs on my neighbor's old cat. She asked me to."

"She just let's it roam around?" Eddy asked.

Marie shook her head, "No! She, uh, bought the farm two weeks ago."

Eddy looked down, "Oh, shit."

The black-haired girl gave the cat a few pets, examining the boy in front of her. "What's it to you? You look like you recognize this cat or somethin'."

He pursed his lips. The cat looked up and immediately hobbled over to him.

"Damn, I feel betrayed," Marie huffed.

"You said this was your neighbor's cat?" Eddy asked softly, stroking the coarse fur along its back.

Marie nodded, only half-interested as she moved to pull her phone out. "Yeah, her name's Ginny. Really nice, actually. She's just been wanderin' around since Brenda kicked the bucket." Marie watched more intently as the large, fluffy cat continued to rub against Eddy's leg. "Damn, she really likes you!"

"Just a pussy magnet, I guess," Eddy winked.

"God, I wish I was." Marie held up her phone. "Here shorty, smile!"

Eddy flipped the camera off, an exaggerated happy smile on his face. Just as the picture was snapped, Ginny leaned into his free hand.

"What's the limp about?" Eddy asked as Ginny's gait stiffened again when she moved over to his other hand.

Marie shrugged, "Brenda found her nearly dead, like, eight years ago I think? She was sick and her front leg was really messed up, I guess. She nursed her back to health but the leg never got all the way better."

"Apparently," Eddy said with a hint of sarcasm.

There was no mistaking it; the limp, the coloring, the eyes.

This was the cat he tried to save.

This was the cat his brother tried to kill.

"Y'know, out of everyone in this town you're the most different."

Eddy blinked, looking up as he continued to pet Ginny. He put his realization to the back of his mind, for now. "Whaddya mean?"

Marie gestured exaggeratingly in Eddy's direction. "Not the way you look. You're still short and fat. You are a lot better lookin' facially, but I'm talkin' what's on the inside."

He laughed, "Okay, Freud."

She pulled out a lighter, cigarette between her lips as she lit up. "DD's a lot more chill and Ed's less spacey, but you stand out. Like, you're not as loud and obnoxious. You're tolerable to be around. You aren't so desperate for people to like you anymore-"

"'K, I think I get the point!" Eddy yelled dramatically, arms in the air. Ginny jumped a little, but quickly settled back down.

"Alright," she began after taking a hit, "but all I'm sayin' is that you changed for the better."

Eddy shrugged, "Aw, thanks Dragon Tattoo."

"No problem, Frodo."

She smiled.

He smiled.

Marie looked down at Ginny again. "Hey, so after that precious moment lemme ask you somethin'."

"What?"

She pointed to Ginny.

"You interested in a cat?"

/

At first, Edd was really worried.

Eddy had been doing so well lately. He still had a lot of crap to sort through, lots of baggage, but he was showing himself to be the great person Edd knew he truly was inside.

Yesterday, he looked perhaps the lowest he had seen him since his mental breakdown, shortly after the fated meeting with his brother.

Edd would never forget the absolute fear and the lack of sleep he suffered when Eddy's parents took him to the mental hospital.

He stayed there for a week.

It didn't help that the nightmares happened so frequently. This one must have hit him _hard_. Kevin, as more of a concerned gesture than anything, sort of let the cat out of the bag on that one.

Today, he didn't come to class. Edd felt twice as concerned. Though the three of them hung out after class the day before, it was obvious Eddy wasn't himself. Even Ed could pick up on that.

Worse, he wasn't answering his phone and only responded to texts.

' _I'm fine.' 'Can't talk.'_

So Edd, together with Ed, left school at the earliest moment possible. They made a beeline to Eddy's house, to the outside door that led to his room.

"D'ya think Eddy is hurt, Double Dee?"

Edd shook his head, "No, Ed. I do think he needs someone to talk to, however."

Ed beamed, "Then I will talk his ear off! We will make Eddy smile so big that it will never leave his face!"

Ed knocked, as he did last time, but it was a lot less enthusiastic despite seeming so optimistic.

A moment passed. There was a slight shuffling, followed by silence.

"Eddy?!" Ed yelled loudly. He knocked again.

Two sets of ears picked up on a door opening from the front.

"Hey!"

"Eddy, what the heck is going on?" Edd asked, confused as ever.

"Just follow me through the front door! C'mon!" He looked frazzled, his faux-hawk not even properly styled.

When they had gotten inside, Edd stopped along with Ed. "Okay, so what exactly is going on?" Edd asked again.

Eddy winked, seeming like he was suppressing a laugh.

"Guys."

"What is it, Eddy?" Ed asked this time.

"I'm," he grinned. Eddy had one of the worst poker faces ever.

He leaned in close.

"I got some pussy."

There was a beat.

Then, the three burst into roaring laughter. It wasn't even that funny, but seeing their friend in better spirits and _alive_ was enough for them to laugh very hard at the randomness of the statement.

"C'mon, boys," he winked again. "Just, just follow me."

They walked to his room, Eddy in front as he slowly approached the door.

"One request, though."

Edd furrowed his brow. "What? What's all this really about?"

"Just wait, sockhead. And, my request is to get inside really fast."

"Okay," Edd and Ed said together, slow and skeptical.

Eddy quickly opened the door, motioning wildly. "Go!"

They ran in, Eddy right behind them as he slammed the door.

Edd quickly scanned his surroundings. "Eddy, could you explain what's going on now? Is something wrong? Is this about some gir-?"

Edd stared on in surprise.

Ed's expression quickly went from confused to one of pure adoration.

Eddy bit his lip in anticipation.

Well, Edd thought, at least Eddy wasn't lying earlier.

"KITTY!"

" _Mew_."

"So, you're telling me, that this is the 'pussy' you were referring to?" Edd asked, beginning to break out in giggles.

"You betcha."

"That was a great setup!" Edd continued to laugh, the statement so much funnier now that he had proper context. Ed had already rushed over to pet the cat. It seemed quite friendly.

"Do your parents know?"

"Yup."

"Are they okay with it?"

"'She', and her name's Ginny!" Eddy declared with faux-dramatic flair. "And yeah. Mom's out returnin' the stuff I bought to get better stuff. She wants her to get used to this room first before having free reign. I don't ask questions. Moms, y'know?" He sighed.

"She is so nice, Eddy! Cats are supposed to be mean and hide a lot!"

"I know it, Lumpy. That's why she's here." Eddy grinned.

Edd felt light.

This was the Eddy he wanted to see. If a pet could make him this much happier, then Edd was more than supportive of having Ginny around.

/

Bringing Ginny home proved to be one of the best decisions of his life.

Not only was she an overall calming presence, but she ended up serving a much greater purpose.

It was obvious Eddy had recurring nightmares. That was a given. It was one of the big things he struggled with.

He soon found out that Ginny was more than happy to wake him up when they started.

Whether she sensed it or just saw him struggling, she would either paw his face or rub against him to wake him up. It was always before they started to get really bad.

Eddy suffered many less sleepless nights because of her actions. Ginny shook him out of panic attacks and flashbacks as well. She was steadfast and always by his side, his little sidekick. She wasn't overly demanding of attention but was always there when she was needed.

While he still had to take two different prescriptions, Eddy was able to take one out of the equation because of Ginny. He cut down on overeating quite a bit and was able to stop taking other unhealthy measures to 'treat' his issues.

She was exactly what Eddy needed.

As he sat in his room, his best friends hanging out with him and his feline companion close by, Eddy felt the most comfortable in his own skin than he thought he ever had.

"I'll be back!" Ed declared. Both Edd and Eddy could only assume he was visiting the bathroom.

After Ed left the room, he caught a very thoughtful smile coming from Edd.

"What're you so happy for?" Eddy asked, his sarcastic but playful humor showing itself as naturally as it had in a long time.

Edd folded his arms in front of him, perched backwards on Eddy's desk chair.

"This is the happiest I've seen you in a long, long time."

Eddy scratched the back of his head, a small blush forming despite himself. "Well, hopefully it'll be something to get used to."

"Hopefully," he parroted.

The shorter of the two smiled, his eyes bright and his expression genuine.

No more masks.

No more being a lost ghost, just out of reach of its corporeal form.

Perhaps the unconditional love from Ginny would take him the rest of the way.

No.

Eddy would always have issues. Some miracle cat wasn't going to make all of his demons disappear. At best, she could help him with the symptoms. She was already doing an amazing job in that respect.

He was like a broken glass, put back together but never the same. Looking almost as good as new, but much easier to break and chip.

Slowly, he was on his way to accepting that fact about himself.

Still, in the end, this was a huge step in the right direction.

/\\\/\\\

 **Notes** : I made an Undertale reference in this. If you find it you get a COOKIE SHAPED LIKE EDDY. (disclaimer: you don't actually get a cookie shaped like eddy.)

 **Disclaimer** : Ed, Edd, 'N Eddy belongs to Danny Antonucci, AKA Studios, and Cartoon Network. The lyrics and title come from the song 'Misguided Ghosts' by Paramore. It's so good, give it a listen!


End file.
